Method of and apparatus for feeding paper to printing presses



. March 7;1933.

' METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR-FEEDING fAPER T0 PRINTINGIPRESISEYS Original Filed May 13, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l lllllrnllll-llllll-llll' March 7, 1933. H. A. w. WOOD METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING PAPER TO PRINTING PRESSES Original Filed May 13, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lwde-rcv- Wnry 4 We 7'00 Patented Mar. 7, 1933 HENRY" A. WISE WOOD, OF NEW YORK,

11. Y, Assmnon r woon mzwsrarna MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PAPER T0 PRINTING PRESSES Application filed May 13, 1930, Serial No. 451,965. Renewed July 29, 1982.

This invention relates to the printing art, and particularly to the printing of newspapers and magazines.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a new method of supporting and feeding the web into the press to effect a material saving in the space occupied by the paper rolls, and to provide a method of handling the paper rolls before the web is led into the press which will reduce the amount of handling of the heavyrolls and likewise reduce the damage that is frequently done by turning the rolls in the pressroom from the vertical to a horizontal position. i

Other objects and'advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich Fig. 1 is a side view of part of a pressroom and basement showing the press units diagrammatically and illustrating the means for supportin the web rolls;

Fig.2 is a plan 0 the same;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation, and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing how the invention can be adapted for rolls and webs of less than the normal width.

Under present conditions it has been found necessary to locate newspaper ofiices in the most crowded portions of every com munity, where space is scarce and costly. It is the habit now to erect tall buildings, on account of the value of the ground they occupy, and to place the machinery in the basement. As the buildings grow taller the space available for machinery in the basement becomes less for the reason that pillars which support the high building must be greater in bulk and nearer together than would be the case if low buildings were used. Papers are also growing rapidly in bulk, having passed in recent years from daily editions of a maximum of twenty-four pages to editions which run as high as eighty pages.

The foregoing factors necessitate an ever increasing extensiveness of production per 5 cubic foot of press-room, whlch requires the utilization of the available spacein the most economical manner. With all the improvements which have been made in the better utilization of the space at hand, sufiicient gain has not been accomplished to satisfy the urgent needs which exist.

An intensive study of these problems has led me to the discovery that the paper rolls from which newspapers are now printed, and which are stored in vertical position and transported around the plant in the same condition, can now be run on their ends in a vertical positionas satisfactorily as they have been run on their sides. At the present time these heavy rolls are transported about the press-room on end carried by wheel trucks. They have to be tipped over on their sides and on account of their great weight, paper damages often result.

By keeping the rolls in vertical position and avoiding the throwing down of the rolls on their sides this is avoided and thus a great deal of this paper damage is eliminated. Furthermore, the standard newspaper roll is 34:" in diameter and 71 long. It will be seen that when disposed horizontally it will occupy a floor space of two thousand foun hundred and thirty-one square inches. When dis osed vertically it occupies only one thousan one hundred and fifty-six square inches of floor space. The room heretofore wasted by turning it on its side, therefore, constitutes more than half of the space occupied by the horizontal roll.

The rolls now have to be turned over as stated, so as to get them into horizontal position, and they are then transported on their sides to the press or reel-room, and into or beneath the press itself. Thus not only is space saved when the roll is run in vertical position for delivering its web to the press, but also there is no need any longer of providing such large spaces between the presses for running the roll around the room as has been the case heretofore. This tipping over of the rollson their sides also necessitates the use of unnecessary labor and some element of danger.

I have found that a roll will run as truly and easily and with as little waste when set up on its end as in the present practice of running it on its side. Furthermore it may be even more conveniently handled this invention as applied in an extremely simple way. Typical printing press units 10 are illustrated diagrammatically supported on a floor or framework 9. At the sides of the press and below it, inthe form illustrated, are mounted supports 12 carrying the usual bearings for the studs of a press roll 11. The two bearings are mounted in vertical ali nment, one over the other. The web is ledrom the vertical web roll about a vertical guide roll 13, and then inwardly into the space directly below the ress. Here the web is turned over a tumlng bar 14 set at an angle of 45, after which it passes down, up, and over several guide rolls 15 into the press in the usual gitudinal supports 16 by means of end brackets 17 so that the turning bar may be adjusted to accomplish side-register. This can be done by adjusting one end of. oneof the bars 16 by a screw and nut 18. These brackets may be loosened and moved along, as shown in Fig. 4, to permit a narrow web to be run on either side of the press as desired.

Tension on the web can be maintained in any desired way. The particular means shown consists; of a series of straps 20 engaging the web roll 11 and passing over rolls 21 on a vertical shaft or rod 22. Each strap is tensioned by a spring 23 which is adjustable by a screw and nut 24 for varying the tension and keeping the tension the same on all parts of the web.

In this way the rolls which are stored on end are put on wheel trucks and carried on end throughout their journey in vertical position. They are mounted in their bearings on the supports 12 without turning them out of vertical position. The floor space required for the transportation of the rolls in horizontal position may be utilized to permit larger presses to be used or for other purposes, and likewise the space atthe end of the press usually occupied by the rolls in horizontal position. The damage to the rolls from throwing them over on their sides is entirely eliminated,

and likewise the danger of injury to workmen. The time required to get a roll into position is reduced, and the cost of the equipment is not any greater than that in use at the present time. The supports which carry the bearings for the studs of the roll can be fixed to-the floor or ceiling as shown and thereby be materially steadied so that the vibration is reduced.

Although I have illustrated and described only .two embodiments of the invention 1' am aware of the fact that modificationscan,

be made therein by any person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore I do not wish to be limited to the exact form shown, but what I do claim is:

1. The method of feeding a paper web to a printing press which consists in locating a web roll with its axis vertical and below the press and leading the vertical web horizontally from the roll'into the ress.

2. The method of feeding the web to a printing press which consists in mounting a web supply roll in vertical position at the side of the press and below it, leading the web laterally under the press, turning it into an upward path to the press, and applying tension to the web roll at several points across its surface.

3. The combination with a printing press, of supports for a web roll located below and at one side of the press one over the other, so that the axis of the web roll is located'in a vertical position and a. vertical guide roll in position for guiding, the web from, the web roll into the press. 7 j

4. The combination with a'printing press, of supporting means for a web roll located below the press and to one side thereof in a position to support the web roll with its cal position, of means for applying tension to the web roll, means for guiding the web from the web roll laterally in a horizontal direction with the web in 'a vertical position, and a turningbar for turning the web into a position running substantially vertically to bring the web into the press.

6. The combination of means located below and to one side of a printing press for supporting a web roll with its axis in vertical position, of means for applying tension to the web roll, means for guidin the web from the web roll laterally in a orizontal direction with the web in a vertical position, and a turning bar for turning the web into a position running substantially vertically to bring the web into the press, said turning means comprising a turning bar and two supports therefor, one of said supports being adjustable to side register the web and said bar being adjustable bodily to a position to permit of the introduction-of a web of less HENRY A. WISE WOOD. 

